A few days ago Bill Gates had his fourth AMA on Reddit in which he shared his thoughts on the education system, new technology, his life at Harvard and his daily hobbies. He gave insight into his beliefs and fostered an interesting, unique conversation.

Education

The American education system has been criticized for years by many pundits, and Gates had a few critiques of his own to give.

"I agree that our schools have not improved as much as we want them to. There are a lot of great teachers but we don't do enough to figure out what they do so well and make sure others benefit from that," Gates said on Reddit.

He added that teachers get no feedback and that is why the system does not improve. He also noted that technology is starting to help, and that it has benefited some students a lot.

"I think we will get tools like personalized learning to all students in the next decade," he added.

Harvard

Gates also took some time to talk about his life at Harvard and his work there when he was a student.

"I decided that I would be different and never attend any class I was signed up for but always attend a class I wasn't signed up for," he said. He also noted that while at the university he also decided to take a Combinatorics class alongside a Brain Class, which he did not sign up for. He said he did this throughout his time at Harvard, but studied hard to get good grades all the same.

His one weakness was chemistry, in which he admitted he got a C.

Retirement and the Future

At 60, Gates is a billionaire, but he has not stopped working hard. He noted his love for his work during the AMA.

"I love my work. I love meeting the scientists and field workers. I have the flexibility to work less if I wanted to and I do take vacations now," he said. "When I was in my 20's I didn't believe in vacation so I have mellowed. I feel super lucky that I can be involved in the Foundation work with Melinda for another 30 years assuming my health holds up."

From this statement it does not seem like Gates is ready to retire yet. In fact he is already developing new programs. In the Reddit AMA, he discussed his work on a project called Personal Agent, which will help users remember more, store information and pick out important details.

He also spoke about quantum computing, something that he has been developing in the last few years.

"Microsoft and others are working on quantum computing. It isn't clear when it will work or become mainstream," he noted. Gates predicts it could happen within 6 to 10 years and could help solve some very important science problems, including materials and catalyst design.

New Developments in Human Society

The conversation was not all about Gates. Some users asked the billionaire what he hoped to see developed in human society. He also talked about popular subjects in the political landscape and greenhouse gases. Gates noted that he hopes to see cheaper energy alternatives and lower levels of greenhouse gas. He also noted that he wanted to see more developments in combating certain diseases.

He expected "progress on disease particularly infectious disease. Polio, Malaria, HIV, TB, etc.. are all diseases we should be able to either eliminate or bring down close to zero. There is amazing science that makes us optimistic this will happen."

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